Product Description
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Ted Greene Remembered This release should be remembered as the
guitar event of the year. A number of the world's best players
paying tribute to a common mentor is significant, but when the
mentor was Ted Greene and those paying homage include such names
as Lee Ritenour, Laurence Juber, Tommy Emmnauel, Jay Graydon,
John Pisano, Anthony Wilson and Dan Sawyer, even the word
significant doesn't quite do justice. This project, the
brainchild of producer Tom Bocci, yields creative, heartfelt and
profound musical creations from those artists and a few others
whose names aren't as recognizable. Nevertheless, the talents of
Mark Goldenberg, Phil de Gruy, Stephen Bruton and Steve Ferguson
are major league by anyone's standards. And I mustn't forget the
popular pianist George Winston who surprises with his
considerable ability as a slack-key guitarist. And then there's
Tom Bocci himself, playing a marvelous duet with Greene on the
album's final track. I can't think of an instance when this much
guitar talent has been assembled for an album. Sure there were
heavy hitters for the Concert for George and Clapton's
Crossroads, but those players were mainly rockers and blues
artists who rely heavily on the pentatonic scale. And that's not
meant to be derisive in any way. Milking that blues scale
creatively is every bit as much of an art as haiku or good
poetry. But the Ted Greene Remembered CD is, dare I say it, more
sophisticated and varied in it's . Tommy Emmanuel kicks off
the set with an engagingly swinging version of "Watch What
Happens," followed by Laurence Juber's stunning rendition of "A
Foggy Day." Lee Ritenour's "For Ted" is soulful and poignant and
indicative of Rit's amazing and too- seldom-heard skill as a
fingerstyle player. It's a highlight. Jay Graydon turns in a
seriously good version of "The Star Spangled Banner," that's at
once a thoughtful patriotic salutation to the events of 9/11 as
well as a nod to Ted's love of baseball. Space prohibits
documenting each player's contribution, suffice it to say that
the tribute continues relentlessly with superb playing. In
addition, each guitarist expresses his fondness for Greene with
often amusing and inful comments in the liner notes. Bocci
has done us all a big favor here with this labor-of-love
production. But then, that's the only appropriate way to have
done this. Bravo. Highly recommended. Five stars. Jim Carlton
Author of: Conversations With Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists.
We're pleased to announce the release of 'Ted Greene Remembered'
on El Dorado Records, an independent label created to honor the
legacy of the legendary guitarist and beloved teacher. This
tribute album features new tracks by Tommy Emmanuel, Laurence
Juber, Lee Ritenour, George Winston, Dan Sawyer, Anthony Wilson,
Mark Goldenberg,a John Pisano-Ted Greene duet,Jay Graydon, Phil
deGruy, Steve Ferguson, Stephen Bruton and a Tom Bocci-Ted Greene
duet. The CD was produced by Tom Bocci and is accompanied by a
beautifully designed Digipak and twelve-page booklet insert with
liner notes by Ted's longtime companion, Barbara Franklin,and the
players themselves. Our label name is taken from the apartment
building located in southern California where Ted enlightened
thousands of students for over thirty years in guitar and life .
It also served as a musical laboratory where he experimented
tirelessly to achieve his signature guitar sound and unique
mastery of the instrument. Proceeds from the sale of 'Ted Greene
Remembered' will benefit a website devoted to sharing Ted's
guitar teachings worldwide.
Review
------
This release should be remembered as the guitar event of the
year. A number of the world s best players paying tribute to a
common mentor is significant, but when the mentor was Ted Greene
and those paying homage include such names as Lee Ritenour,
Laurence Juber, Tommy Emmnauel, Jay Graydon, John Pisano, Anthony
Wilson and Dan Sawyer, even the word significant doesn t quite do
justice. This project, the brainchild of producer Tom Bocci,
yields creative, heartfelt and profound musical creations from
those artists and a few others whose names aren t as
recognizable. Nevertheless, the talents of Mark Goldenberg, Phil
de Gruy, Stephen Bruton and Steve Ferguson are major league by
anyone s standards. And I mustn t forget the popular pianist
George Winston who surprises with his considerable ability as a
slack-key guitarist. And then there s Tom Bocci himself, playing
a marvelous duet with Greene on the album s final track. I can t
think of an instance when this much guitar talent has been
assembled for an album. Sure there were heavy hitters for the
Concert for George and Clapton s Crossroads, but those players
were mainly rockers and blues artists who rely heavily on the
pentatonic scale. And that s not meant to be derisive in any way.
Milking that blues scale creatively is every bit as much of an
art as haiku or good poetry. But the Ted Greene Remembered CD is,
dare I say it, more sophisticated and varied in its . Tommy
Emmanuel kicks off the set with an engagingly swinging version of
Watch What Happens, followed by Laurence Juber s stunning
rendition of A Foggy Day. Lee Ritenour s For Ted is soulful and
poignant and indicative of Rit s amazing and too- seldom-heard
skill as a fingerstyle player. It s a highlight. Jay Graydon
turns in a seriously good version of The Star Spangled Banner,
that s at once a thoughtful patriotic salutation to the events of
9/11 as well as a nod to Ted s love of baseball. Space prohibits
documenting each player s contribution, suffice it to say that
the tribute continues relentlessly with superb playing. In
addition, each guitarist expresses his fondness for Greene with
often amusing and inful comments in the liner notes. Bocci
has done us all a big favor here with this labor-of-love
production. But then, that s the only appropriate way to have
done this. Bravo. Highly recommended. Five stars. Jim Carlton
Author of: Conversations With Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists.
--Conversations with Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists
Ted Greene Remembered Various Artists El Dorado Records FolkWax
Rating: 9 Reader Rating: 9 Heartfelt Tribute To An Inspiring
Teacher Tommy Emmanuel, Laurence Juber, Lee Ritenour, Tom Bocci,
George Winston, and Stephen Bruton: that's just half the talent
who've contributed to this all-instrumental remembrance of
teacher, author, and guitarist Ted Greene. The music ranges from
The Star Spangled Banner to My Romance to Bob Dylan's Farewell to
Bruton's original Spirit Lake. You don't have to know anything
about Greene or his work to enjoy all this, though you will learn
of him, both by listening to this music and reading the comments
in the liner notes. Ted Greene was renowned worldwide as the
author of Chord Chemistry, one of the most in-depth studies of
chord harmony and theory ever published for guitar. Ted was also
a brilliant, innovative, and diverse guitarist capable of playing
dazzling solos from Jazz to neo-Baroque improvisation. Yet his
chosen and most beloved path was as a teacher, reads the
beginning of his biography at the website set up to continue his
work. Part of the proceeds from this go to benefit that
project. Kerry Dexter is a senior contributing editor at FolkWax
--Folkwax Magazine - February 13, 2008
Ted Greene Remembered Various Artists El Dorado Records Guitarist
Ted Greene touched a lot of people, including some of the
greatest guitarists who ever played. Album producer Tom Bocci
gathered many of them to pay tribute to his friend, who passed
away in 2005. Known for an absolute mastery of the guitar, as
well as his teaching skills and ground-breaking instructional
book Chord Chemistry, Greene left a strong legacy. On Remembered,
contemporaries like John Pisano, Jay Graydon, Lee Ritenour,
Laurence Juber, Stephen Bruton and others all revisit Ted Greene
s spirit to give their contributions added light. There is such a
sense of calm beauty on all these songs, it s like Greene s soul
inhabits the music and gives it a third dimension. Along with all
the s are special memories from each player that paint a
person that really did make a difference. Luckily, Ted Greene s
music will last forever. -Bill Bentley --SUN Community Newspapers
